Offbeat Fund-Raiser : Sen. Robbins to Seek Treasure in Caribbean

After this year’s legislative session ends and an autumn chill creeps into the air, state Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) will be heading toward the sunny Caribbean as part of an offbeat campaign fund-raiser.

For $1,699 a person, supporters have been invited to escape to Montego Bay in Jamaica with Robbins beginning Nov. 1.

“Most politicians have fund-raisers by charging somebody $500 or $1,000 for a martini and a couple of meatballs,” Robbins said. “We prefer to use a more innovative approach.”

‘Warm and Sunny’

He said that in November “it is warm and sunny in Jamaica while it’s cold and wet in California.”

Robbins last year organized a three-day cruise to Baja California to raise money and has staged fund-raisers at musicals such as “Cats” and “42nd Street.”

After the Mexican cruise, Robbins said, supporters asked him to plan another excursion. So he arranged the Jamaican holiday.

For $1,699, Robbins’ friends will get a package deal that includes round-trip air fare and hotel accommodations. However, he declined to say how much his campaign treasury would earn. As of June 30, Robbins, who is up for reelection in 1986, listed at least $273,000 in his campaign war chest.

Island Hospitable

Robbins said he needed at least 30 supporters to join him and so far he’s signed up about 40, most of them San Fernando Valley businessmen. Supporters could deduct up to $150 of the trip from their state and federal taxes.

The senator said he selected Jamaica because he has toured the island nation in the past and a hotel gave him a good rate for the fund-raising event.

Robbins said he will not make any political speeches while on the trip but merely expects to “relax” and “lie on the beach” at Montego Bay.